Tag Archives: standards

I came across an informative blog post today by Stephen Walther that talks about ASP.NET and HTML5 local storage. It explains this exciting feature by discussing details relating to client/server concurrency, difference between local storage and cookies, intracting with WCF and more. If you are an ASP.NET developer who wants to stay on top of things go check it out.

I got impatient yesterday and manually downloaded and installed the Android 2.2 (Froyo) update for the HTC Incredible on Verizon Wireless. Since then I’ve been playing with the new features and I’m quite pleased. There have been numerous updates which add significant value to the Android platform on the spiritual successor to the Nexus One. The best part is I think my non-techie wife actually wants one. Too bad we recently renewed her contract with a “feature phone” and she’s locked in for a several more months. Without further ado here’s the run-down of my opinion of the notable features.

720p HD Video…ON A PHONE

I shot a 15-second sample video during my evening commute. Moving at 55 mph the train made a good subject.

Performance Improvements and Web Standards

This feature is quite nice. Web browsing is much snappier. For a mobile browser the JavaScript and standards compliance are quite impressive. It scored an astonishing 93/100 on the Acid 3 test (considered the current benchmark for browser performance and standards compliance). Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 on Windows 7 only scored a 12/100…so go figure. Switching between apps is much smoother too.

WiFi Hotspot

I was initially most excited about this feature. Unfortunately it requires you to purchase a Internet plan from Verizon for an additional $20/month. You could potentially avoid this by rooting your phone but Verizon may get wise to your scam and shut down your operation.

“Update All” option in the Android Market

Anyone who has an Android phone and has suffered through updating each app, INDIVIDUALLY, can appreciate this.

Flash 10.1

It works great, I watched some live.twit.tv on my phone just to be sure. I can sum it up with SUCK IT Steve Jobs.

Overall I’m very pleased with my HTC Incredible with Android 2.2. Thanks again Google and keep up the good work.

My friend and coworker published an article about list elements; <ul>, <ol>, and the little used <dl>. He explains why and how you should use them and their relationship with CSS. Check it out over at Subtypical >.

There are a lot of new elements in HTML5 and it may be confusing what tags are included, added, or removed and what they are for. A coworker today found the Periodic Table of the Elements from Josh Duck. I like it because it groups the major elements making them easier to conceptualize. Each element contains a concise summary of the purpose of the tags and the colors are keys to the following categories:

Root elements

Metadata and scripting

Embedding content

Text-level semantics (Web 3.0, here we come)

Grouping Content

Forms

Document sections

Tabular data

Interactive elements

Josh Duck is an Australian LAMP developer working in London. Nice work!

I’ve been reading HTML5: Designing Rich Internet Applications and have been thinking. Never a good thing in my case. HTML5 has a lot of potential because it exposes new functionality currently being handled by Javascript. You loose tags that we all been fond of: <font> **, <b>, <marquee>**, <big>, <center>, <etc>* **. On the other hand you have gained <datagrid>, <input type=”url”>, <input type=”email”>, <div class=”etc”>. You should have gotten used to using <strong> in lieu of <b>, but we’ll talk about that one-on-one.

This reading has set me on the mission to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the version incremented standard (with no space). These standards have been shaped by the market forces that make up the governing body of the World Wide Web known as the W3C. The market reality of these corporations have shaped and guided the development of industry standards for years1. These corporations are responsible for developing software, lower-level coding standards, and training to build webpages, mobile apps, and other software and hardware that interfacing the public with the World Wide Web.

These standards are the bedrock of the what some term “Web 3.0” or “The Semantic Web”. On this bedrock developers are creating the platforms and applications enabling humanity to consume information that influences society. I will be discussing this in the coming weeks, months, and years as developers write code taking advantage of HTML5. All you have to do sit back, grab a frosty beverage and tune in after the break.